Diane Rufino: ABORTION: Where Conscience Meets the Womb

February 29, 2012

A baby is never a mistake, even if the mother’s conduct was.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about our country’s stand on abortion and what the issues are on both sides. As we all know, abortion is the voluntary, or calculated, intentional termination of an embryo or fetus. I understand that reasonable people can debate when life actually begins and I understand that religion teaches that life begins at conception. Yet I somehow feel there could be some room for common ground in the very early stages of a pregnancy. But once there is a heartbeat, it would be impossible for me to imagine any reason why that living being should be terminated, absent an urgent dire threat to the mother’s life. Yet as it stands now, abortions performed prior to the third trimester are legal in this country, thanks to the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. [The decision essentially states that since a fetus is not a human being and therefore has no rights, including any that are protected under our Constitution, the woman's right to control her fertility and reproduction ability naturally outweigh any possible rights of the developing fetus for the first two trimesters. With respect to the third trimester, the state may have an interest in protecting the life of the unborn and so it can regulate, but NOT when the woman's health - either physical or mental (including stress) - becomes an issue. So Roe also shows great tolerance for the abortion of a baby that is ready to be born].



Pro-life groups believe in the sanctity of all life. They believe, as Ronald Reagan wrote so eloquently in 1983, that to diminish the value of one category of human life — the unborn – diminishes the value of all human life. They believe that God is the giver of life. They believe that the embryo or fetus is “alive” and thus abortion is tantamount to murder. To them the question is not when human life begins, but rather ‘What is the value of human life?’ “The abortionist who reassembles the arms and legs of a tiny baby to make sure all its parts have been torn from its mother’s body can hardly doubt whether it is a human being. The real question for him and for all of us is whether that tiny human life has a God-given right to be protected by the law — the same right we have.” (Ronald Reagan)


Since the decision in Roe v. Wade, which stands for the legal fiction that a fetus is not a human being, more than 20 million unborn children have had their lives snuffed out by legalized abortions. That is well over ten times the number of Americans lost in all our nation’s wars. In 1982 the nation watched as a court in Indiana allowed the starvation death of “Baby Doe” because the child had Down’s Syndrome. The death of the tiny infant Baby Doe tore at the hearts of Americans because the child was undeniably a human being – alive. He was born mentally retarded and with an incomplete esophagus. He laid helpless before the eyes of the doctors and the eyes of the nation. The parents wanted to deny it a simple medical procedure to fix his esophagus so he could eat and they sued for the right to let him die. This time the issue before the court was not whether Baby Doe was a human being, but rather whether parents had the right to choose to terminate the life of their baby when it was handicapped or whether the state could step in and try to save its life. They sided with the parents. If Baby Doe received such little compassion from the courts, how do those who haven’t had the opportunity to enter the world stand a chance?

Dr. Bernard Nathanson, who in 1969 was a co-founder of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL), later renamed the National Abortion Rights Action League, helped make abortion legal. He provided statistics to the Supreme Court in Roe to help support that decision. He was also the former director of New York’s City’s Center for Reproductive and Sexual Health, the largest abortion clinic in the world at the time. In the late 1970′s he turned against abortion to become a prominent pro-life advocate, wrote Abortion America, and produced the powerfully revealing video, “The Silent Scream.” He later admitted that the statistics he presented to the high court were intentionally misrepresented. As he wrote: “We fed the public a line of deceit, dishonesty, a fabrication of statistics and figures. We succeeded because the time was right and the news media cooperated. We sensationalized the effects of illegal abortions, and fabricated polls which indicated that 85 percent of the public favored unrestricted abortion, when we knew it was only 5 percent. We unashamedly lied, and yet our statements were quoted by the media as though they had been written in law.”

Dr. Nathanson also wrote: “I believe with all my heart that there is a divinity of existence which commands us to declare a final and irreversible halt to this infinitely sad and shameful crime against humanity.”


Roe v. Wade and the continued devaluation of the unborn continues to prod the moral conscience of Americans.


Pro-lifers understand that they can’t fully appreciate all abortion decisions nor the wrenchingly difficult dilemmas presented by their particular situations – such as those made by an ill-informed 16-year-old who made an impulsive decision or was coerced, or a college student who has an education ahead of her, or an unwed mother who can’t afford to feed or take care of another child, or a woman who has had non-consensual sex, but they don’t believe the solution lies in a deliberate act of destruction of human life. They don’t believe an otherwise viable and living fetus should be killed because of inconvenience – or for any other reason, for that matter. There are options and resources. There is education and common sense. There is a lifestyle built on decent moral values, discipline, and priorities.

Pro-choice groups, on the other hand, believe that a woman should have access to whatever health care she needs and that she should have control over her own body. Of course, as Ronald Reagan once commented: “I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion is already born.” Finally, there is the issue of state intervention and to what degree the state should have a say in a pregnancy.

There are some women (pro-choice) who believe that they have a fundamental civil right to have complete control over her fertility and therefore she should have the freedom to decide whether she wants to continue or terminate her pregnancy. Others simply want the right to an abortion to undue something they aren’t capable or ready to deal with. Some have a change of heart and want to postpone having a baby until a future time. As Frederica Mathewes-Green explained: “No woman wants an abortion as she wants an ice cream cone or a Porsche. She wants an abortion as an animal caught in a trap wants to gnaw off its own leg.” Yet we all know that abortion is often performed with less consideration than that. It is often a woman’s choice of birth control…. birth control after the fact. Sometimes many months after the fact.

Pro-choice for women means no-choice for men.

Career women overwhelmingly side with the pro-choice view. Women who consider themselves pro-life have typically been stereotyped as church-going women and those who are stay-at-home wives and mothers. They are often portrayed as not really needing the option of an abortion. In 2008, my husband and I attended a rally at East Carolina University for John McCain. Sarah Palin was the speaker. Although most of us thought the event would be mobbed by Obama supporters in protest of Ms. Palin’s visit, there were no such mobs. In fact, the only protesters we saw were those who stood across the street carrying plenty of signs calling for the right of women to have an abortion if she chooses. As we were walking on the campus to the event, we saw a woman walking out of one of the University buildings, wearing a nice tailored suit, and asked if we were walking in the right direction. She made a snide comment about Sarah Palin and as we continued on our way, she shouted this to me: “You can’t be a successful woman if you don’t support abortion rights.” Am I to believe that in order to be successful and respected in today’s world, the innocent unborn might need to be sacrificed? Am I to believe that in order to be successful and respected, a woman must knowingly set aside the laws that God asks us to respect? Is that what it means to be successful? I don’t think so.

In fact, I have these few words to say to those career women who so lightly sacrifice the fruits of their womb for a chance to be a player in the business world: Please don’t think there is a comparison between a good job and giving life. Jobs are fleeting and merely ‘positions’ that are temporarily held by one person or another. They either consume you for a business purpose or they consume you for some selfish egotistical gain. A child is a legacy; a permanent bond; a life-long friend…. A reason to live life to the fullest every single day of your life. When I finished graduate school, when I was in my 20s and into my early 30s, I planned for a life of great accomplishment. I was going to be a great scientist. I was going to help understand the molecular basis of cancer and maybe find a cure. There was nothing inside me urging me to get married and start a family. In fact, at that point in my life, I didn’t want children. And I was hoping I would find a man who would want the same. But God knew better. He knew more about my heart than I did. And he blessed me with a child right after I got married. I admit I was scared. I had no maternal instincts whatsoever (but was great with animals) and wasn’t sure I would know what to do. But the minute I saw my daughter’s beautiful face and helpless body, I was hooked. I knew that I was meant to be a mother. I instantly knew there was no greater meaning to life than having a child. I knew I would love this child every minute of my life. When I saw her fragile tiny, red, wrinkled body and the way she was so uncoordinated and didn’t know how to do the simplest of things, I knew I wanted to care for her and keep her safe and comforted for as long as I was able to do so. By the time I left the hospital, I had already circled the dates I would try to conceive my next child. And only in having children of my own was I able to appreciate the depths of the unconditional and eternal love my own parents have for me. And that is the true meaning of life. It is the true circle of life. And like a circle, the love between parents and children are never-ending, just as God’s love is for all of us.

To any woman unsure of her lot in life, I would offer this heartfelt advice: Don’t make the mistake of thinking a career or anything else of such material worth is more valuable than the life-long love you experience and the life lesson you learn from being a parent. My biggest regret in life was not being able to start having children earlier, while I was younger, so that I could have had more of them before it was too late. While all of my friends were dating and getting married, I was still trying to figure out what degrees I wanted and so I got married much later.

PLEASE CONTINUE READING:
http://ncrenegade.com/editorial/abortion-where-conscience-meets-the-womb/

AFP: Hands Off My Health Care!

Nearly two years ago, President Obama signed his deeply unpopular health care package into law. Now, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to review the constitutionality of several elements of that package, including the individual mandate. We may not get a better chance to overturn this affront to our health care freedom; that's why we're taking action now, and we need your help!

Americans for Prosperity just launched a redesigned website - www.HandsOffMyHealthCare.com

 - complete with a People's Brief to the Supreme Court. Americans for Prosperity believes that the individual mandate is unconstitutional and that the President's entire health care law must be struck down with it.

Click here to sign the Hands Off My Health Care People's Brief now!

On March 27th at 1PM, Americans for Prosperity will be hosting a major Hands Off My Health Care rally in Upper Senate Park, right across the street from the U.S. Supreme Court.

We've put together a powerful coalition that includes groups such as the 60 Plus Association, Americans for Tax Reform, Concerned Women for America
Doctor Patient Medical Association, Eagle Forum, Hagerstown Tea Party, Heartland Institute, Family Research Council, Let Freedom Ring, Tea Party Express, Tea Party WDC, and more!


Click here to ride a bus from North Carolina to the Hands Off My Health Care rally!

We're asking everyone who believes in health care freedom to join us, and help send a message to the Supreme Court and all of Washington that the President's health care law is not only unconstitutional, but offends the freedoms upon which this country was founded.

I hope to see you at the Supreme Court next month.

Sincerely,
Dallas Woodhouse
North Carolina State Director
Americans for Prosperity

Beaufort County Conservative Republican Club Meeting



LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Compliments of Tea Party Patriots


Week of February 27, 2012

PASSION TO ACTION

Saturday, March 24 is the Road to Repeal Rally, and we’ve just found out that the unions are already planning to counter protest our rally. Please get the word out to your groups and let people know how important it is that we make a strong showing! Send them to http://www.roadtorepeal.com!/
 
Federal Budget & Spending


No Budget: Tuesday, February 28 marks the 1035th day since the Senate has passed a budget under Harry Reid’s (D-NV) leadership. Remember – the Democrats are trying hard to make it seem like they passed a budget when they passed the debt ceiling deal – but they did not! All the debt ceiling deal did was to place a cap on discretionary spending for a certain amount of time. A budget would require going through discretionary and mandatory spending, taking a look at incoming revenue and making decisions about where the money would be spent, based on priorities. The debt deal did none of that.

Buying Votes from House Democrats: The Heritage Foundation studied the grants doled out in the early years by the Obama Administration, and found that the districts of moderate House Democrats – who were vital to pushing through Obama’s agenda those first two years – received large sums right around the passage of three key pieces of legislation: Obamacare, Dodd-Frank financial regulations, and the cap-and-trade bill! Check out this chart.

Federal Employees: A report released by the CBO in January confirmed that federal workers enjoy advantages over their private sector counterparts – and Obama wants to give government bureaucrats a raise this year!

President’s Budget: Again, here are the highlights of President Obama’s recently proposed budget.

• Fourth Trillion-Dollar Deficit in a Row: The President’s budget proposes a $1.33 trillion deficit in FY 2012. This follows a $1.30 trillion deficit in FY 2011, a $1.29 trillion deficit in FY 2010, and a record-breaking $1.41 trillion deficit in FY 2009, which followed a then record-breaking $459 billion deficit in FY 2008.
• Fifty-Seventh Deficit in Sixty-Two Years: Under the President’s plan, the federal government will have balanced the budget in only five years from 1961 to 2022 (1969, 1998-2001). By contrast, the deficit was balanced in 26 of 60 years from 1901 to 1960 (a period covering two world wars and the Great Depression, among other things).
• Federal Budget Would NEVER Balance Again: The President’s budget does not just propose large deficits in the short-term, but they actually start increasing again from 2018 to 2022 (as shown above). Beyond that point, the President’s proposal to keep entitlement spending unreformed would ensure that the long-term budget outlook is worse. Under the policies proposed by the President’s FY 2013 budget, the federal budget would never balance again.
• 27.5% Spending Increase Since FY 2008: Under the President’s proposal, total federal spending would increase from $2.98 trillion in FY 2008 to $3.82 trillion in FY 2013. This is an increase of $820 billion or 27.5%.
• $10.59 Trillion of New Debt: The President’s budget proposes to increase the national debt from today’s level of $15.35 trillion to $25.90 trillion in FY 2022—an increase of $10.59 trillion or 68.9%. The amount of new debt proposed by this budget is almost identical to where the entire national debt stood on January 20, 2009.
• Unprecedented Spending: The President’s budget proposes federal spending of 24.3% of GDP in FY 2012. Prior to the Obama Administration, the highest peacetime figure was 23.5% of GDP in 1983 (federal spending was also higher from 1942 to 1946 because of World War II). Under the President’s budget, the federal government would spend $50.7 trillion from FY 2012 to FY 2022.
• Increasing Tax Burden: The President’s budget would increase the tax burden from 15.4% of GDP in 2011 to 20.1% of GDP in 2022. For the 2012-2022 period, revenue would average 18.9% of GDP, which—despite the large deficits—is notably above the 40-year average (18.0% of GDP).

Budget Process Reforms: All three of the House GOP’s budget reform bills. Read about all three here. What do you think about these bills?

Equal: The national debt is now equal in size to our entire economy. And it the politicians keep up the overspending, we will surely exceed it soon.

Debt Crisis: Read about the Mercatus Center’s symposium titled, “U.S. Sovereign Debt Crisis: Tipping Point Scenarios and Crash Dynamics.”

Disappearing Tax Dollars: Check out the Mercatus Center’s analysis of the stimulus and read about what actually happened to our tax dollars.

NOT a Recovery: Check out this chart from HotAir.com that shows just how bad Obama’s “recovery” really is.

Obamacare

ROAD TO REPEAL RALLY – March 24 in DC from noon to two! Be there!!!
Unions are planning a counter rally so we MUST show our strength!
Medical Freedom Zones - podcast
Sign the Virginia Tea Party Federation’s petition to repeal Obamacare!
Primary Care doctor shortage looming
New poll: Majority still wants repeal!
Despotism, Thy Name is Obamacare
Feds loaning money to health “co-ops” in 8 states
Obamacare versus individual freedom
Alinskyites reap millions from Obamacare
Why Obamacare exceeds commerce clause interpretation
Anti-conscience mandate is just the beginning
No ruling until 2016???
Senate MUST repeal the CLASS Act!!
How Obamacare is already failing
America’s heritage of independence & Obamacare don’t mix
Obamacare’s threat to medical breakthroughs
ACO’s deeply flawed
More on “millions for Alinskyites”
Anti-conscience mandate draws seven lawsuits
The $4 billion Obamacare slush fund for progressives (related to “co-ops”)


Jobs, Economic Growth & Regulations

Declaration of Dependence: Dependency on government has risen 23% in just two years under President Obama, with 67 million people now relying on some sort of federal program. And at the same time, fewer Americans pay federal income taxes. 49.5% of Americans escaped income taxes in 2009, while in the late 1960’s, only 12% did not pay income taxes.

Stimulus Failure: The White House claims that because of the stimulus that payroll employment is up to 137,550,000, when in reality it is actually 132,409,000. See below for more examples of stimulus failure.

• The unemployment rate has stayed above 8% for more than 36 months.
• The CBO projects that unemployment will stay above 8% until at least 2014.
• Remember when the White House claimed that unemployment would not go above 8% with the stimulus?

Constitutional Issues

• Sec. 1074 of NDAA allows for military drones to be used in domestic airspace
• Tennessee fights back against NDAA
• Coalition forms in opposition to NDAA
• Find sample resolutions and bills opposing NDAA at theintolerableacts.org
• Did Obama just give away seven oil-rich Alaskan islands to Russia?
• Bribery at the DOJ
• ACTA: The international treaty that is similar to SOPA and PIPA

Education

Unions: In a slap in the face to all parents, union leader admits that educators, not parents, know what is best for children. This story is yet another indication of how the teachers’ unions, bureaucrats and their indentured politicians really feel about parents: too dumb to know what is best for your own children. Don’t believe this could happen in your school system? Then, go to your child’s school and question the teacher and administrators on curriculum content and see their reactions and subsequent treatment of your child.

Get Involved: If you really want to make a difference and truly reform education, then I encourage you to visit our website at http://www.teaforeducation.com/ to learn more.
House

Weekly wrap up & the week ahead provided by the RSC.

Weekly Wrap Up:  The House was not in session last week.

The Week Ahead

Transportation – There is a possibility that the transportation bill could be on the floor during the upcoming two-week work period. As you may remember, the energy portion of the legislation—as well as the pension reform pay-for—was split from the initial H.R. 7 legislation and passed separately. The remaining portion of the bill contains the reauthorization of federal highway and transportation programs. While we don’t have any details yet, media reports indicate that a scaled-back version of the bill may be unveiled, with an authorization of 1-2 years instead of 5, and at a marginally lower level of spending. Transit (i.e. non-highway) spending would reportedly be linked back into the Highway Trust Fund, and new energy-drilling revenues would still be partially diverted to support higher highway spending. We will keep you posted with the latest details.

Protecting Academic Freedom – Next week, we will consider H.R. 2117, the Protecting Academic Freedom in Higher Education Act, introduced by RSC Member Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC). Over the past decade as college costs have skyrocketed, so has federal regulation of higher education—including new programs, mandates, and possible price controls. Two such regulations released by the Department of Education in 2010—the credit hour and state authorization regulations—intrude on areas that have historically been left to states and academic institutions. The credit hour regulation establishes a federal definition of a credit hour. This attempt to measure student learning at the federal level will restrict innovation, limit flexibility, and obstruct innovative teaching methods that could help students save money by graduating early. The state authorization regulation forces states to follow federal requirements when deciding whether to grant a college or university permission to operate within the state. The one-size-fits-all requirement piles unnecessary costs on states, colleges, and students. H.R. 2117 simply repeals both of these onerous regulations to prevent this unprecedented and unnecessary overreach by the federal government into higher education.

Repealing Absurd Environment Regulations – Next week, we will also consider H.R. 1837, the San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act, introduced by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA). Earlier this week, the Obama Administration announced that farmers in California’s San Joaquin Valley would only receive 30% of their allocated water supplies for 2012. Even after near-record rainfall last year, farmers and communities in this valley face the threat of another man-made drought due to federal regulations that divert water supplies away from farmers and communities in order to protect a three-inch fish. This absurd regulation has cost thousands of jobs—causing 40% unemployment in some areas—and has fallowed hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile farm land. This legislation would repeal the regulation and bring water supply certainty to this part of the country, protecting some 30,000 jobs and helping families, farmers, and communities in the region.

Other legislation that may be considered: H.R. 1433 - Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2012 (Sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner / Judiciary Committee).

Senate

The Senate was not in session last week and no updated news about the week ahead has been sent out as of Sunday, February 26. (Also, the Senate just doesn’t do much because Harry Reid is trying to help re-elect President Obama, and Obama wants to run against a “do nothing Congress,” so Reid is happy to oblige.)

Civitas Institute: Economics in One Lesson--March 10th, Elizabeth City, NC

Want to fight back against the erosion of our economic liberty? The most important tool in winning intellectual battles is education and knowledge.  We invite you to attend the latest education program presented by the Civitas Institute: Economics in One Lesson.


The Civitas Institute’s Free Market Academy presents this workshop which explores the basic truths of economics and their implications for several public policy issues. Inspired by Henry Hazlitt’s classic and highly influential must-read book, – described by F.A. Hayek as ”a brilliant performance” - this session is perfect for newcomers to economics looking to expose major fallacies and gain a major advantage in winning debates about government’s role in our economy. It also serves as a valuable refresher for those familiar with economics but seeking to be reminded about the essential fundamentals.


Session topics include:

• Understanding the economic way of thinking
• Essential fundamentals
• The myth of public works as job creator•Do ATM machines destroy jobs?
• Enough wages to “buy back the product”?
• “Full employment” is not a worthy goal•Profit is not a dirty word

Never lose a debate about the economy again!

There is an opportunity to attend this free market economic workshop in Elizabeth City at the Fairfield Inn & Suites on City Center Blvd. on Saturday March 10 from 2 p.m to 4 p.m.


To register for this event, and to see what others are saying about the Free Market Academy, CLICK HERE, or visit www.nccivitas.org/training/free-market-academy/.

Registration is only $5, and each attendee will receive a booklet containing the seminar’s content for future reference.

Learn what politicians, left-wing economic professors and the liberal media don’t want you to know about economics, all without the confusion and clutter of complicated mathematical equations.

Sincerely,


Brian Balfour, Budget and Tax Policy Analyst
Civitas Institute
100 S. Harrington St., Raleigh, NC 27603
919-834-2099

For Immediate Release


Bennett announces candidacy for Craven County Board of Education, District 5

February 28, 2012

Rex Bennett, a lifelong resident of New Bern, is pleased to announce his candidacy for the Craven County Board of Education. A former student and graduate of the Craven County School System, Rex is committed to working with teachers, administrators and parents to ensure the highest quality education for every student in Craven County. He believes that education, now more than ever, is the key to paving the way to a successful future, especially in the midst of a struggling economy. As the husband of an educator, Rex understands many of the challenges that teachers face, both inside and outside of the classroom and he will be a strong advocate for teachers and students. He is prepared to roll up his sleeves and invest the time, effort and energy needed to help Craven County Schools to achieve their vision of being the “highest performing system of public education in North Carolina.” Rex is a licensed funeral director and the manager of a local funeral home where he has served many families during their time of need over the past 12 years. He is a member and past president of the Rotary Club of New Bern and serves on the Craven County Board of Social Services where he is the current chairman. He is a member of the New Bern Church of God and is married to Amanda Powers Bennett. They are expecting their first child in April of this year.

Rex Bennett of New Bern is a candidate for Craven County Board of Education, District 5. Becky Kafer is the incumbent, but has said she is not running. It is a non-partisan race. Mr. Bennett is the only announced candidate thus far for District 5, but the filing period is open until Wednesday at noon.


There are 7 members on the Board of Education, from Districts 1 thru 7. Up for election this year are the odd numbers, 1, 3, 5 & 7. Incumbents for the other seats have filed, but we have not yet received any announcements from them.

Although candidates must reside in the area they are running, all Craven County voters may vote.

Candidate filings for all primary office seekers must be completed this week.

Check out Your Candiddates

Frank Palombo for Congress:

YOU'RE INVITED! Join me tomorrow evening, Wednesday, Feb 29th, at the Trent Woods Town Hall at 7pm for the Trent Woods Precinct Meeting. The Precinct Chairman has graciously invited me to attend as your guest speaker for the meeting. Come and find out more about my campaign and tell me about the issues that are important to you. To find out more about the event, visit the Event Page on our website. To find out more about my campaign or to volunteer to work the polls or to make a contribution, go to Palomboforcongress.com. Remember, early voting starts April 19th. Frank Palombo is a Candidate for Congress, 3rd Congressional District, NC.


Bill Cook for NC Senate:
March 5, 2012, 6:30 pm: Bill Cook For NC Senate—Fundraiser: King Chicken Restaurant, Washington NC, Gospel Music & Dinner $300 Host, $100 Sponsor, $35 for Meal. Please mail checks to: Committee to Elect Bill Cook, PO Box 267, Chocowinity, NC 27817. Include Name, Address, Occupation & Employer.

Enemy Expatriation Act~ No Citizenship, No Constitutional Rights

Tea Party Nation
KrisAnne Hall on February 27, 2012
At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, again, here comes another dangerous tool aimed at avoiding Constitutional restrictions in the name of fighting terrorism. It is clear that our Congressmen believe that the pesky Constitution severely limits them in their noble efforts to keep us poor defenseless little citizens safe. Members of Congress vehemently defended their vote for NDAA by stating that US Citizens were specifically excluded from detention under the counterterrorism provisions. Although we know that to be doubtful, Senators Joe Liebermann and Scott Brown along with Representatives Charles Dent, Jason Altmire, Robert Latta and Frank Wolf are working to make that defense irrelevant - eliminate the person’s citizenship and he HAS no Constitutional rights – problem solved. These men have submitted for review S. 1698 and H.R. 3166, bills that will be better known as the Enemy Expatriation Act.


Interesting how the words of our founders still come back to haunt us. In the Letter from a Federal Farmer 8, the author warns us that:

Men may always be too cautious to commit alarming and glaring iniquities; but they, as well as systems, are liable to be corrupted by slow degrees.

That is exactly what has happened. The Constitutional rights of US Citizens are being eroded by slow degrees. Consider the following:

Immediately after 9/11, Congress passes the Patriot Act, legislation that in part allows the FBI to conduct warrantless searches and seize people and property without probable cause and without judicial review. This is the current existing law and do not allow Congress to tell you that it is not being used against US Citizens. Just ask a family in Granville, NC who watched their son snatched into custody by the FBI with nothing more than a suspicion and detained for over two months without any due process!

Next we have Janet Napolitano issuing in an OFFICIAL REPORT of the Department of Homeland Security stating that soldiers returning from Iraq and those who oppose abortion, along with others who hold conservative American values are the real potential terrorists.

Recently, in April of 2011, the Government Accountability office reported that State Department and DHS officials could not agree on “what degree of ‘association’ with a terrorist is sufficient to render an applicant ineligible for a visa.” Through this report we know that our US Visa offices are and have been granting legal resident status to citizens who have documented terrorist affiliation. We also know that these legal residents have been granted full citizenship in spite of their documented terrorist affiliation. Case in point; consider Faisal Shahzad, the failed Times Square bomber, who was granted a student visa and then full citizenship all the while being on a terrorist watch list. Because of Faisal Shahzad’s terrorist attack on America, Eric Holder went on a campaign, not to fix our immigration system or to limit the real terrorists, but to declare that OUR Constitutional rights should be “more flexible” so we can combat terrorism.

Every move that has been taken by this government moves us closer and closer to the death of the Constitution in the name of combating terrorism.

Next, the National Defense Authorization Act declares an indefinite worldwide war on terrorism and makes provision the indefinite detention of those the government labels terrorists, or belligerents, or hostiles, or…?

Congressman after Congressman has declared these sections EXCLUDE US Citizens. They claim that we are protected because this act does not change existing law. Would that be the existing law that took the 16 year old boy into custoday? They also ignore section 4 that authorizes open and unchecked waivers of any established limitations based solely on the whim of the President. They claim that the language of this Act, “The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States” gives that exclusion, even though telling a government agency they are not required to do something is not the same as prohibiting them from doing it. Not even close. We have declared open and undefined war on the nebulous enemy - “terrorism”, and we have given the President the ability to detain US Citizens indefinitely. Never fear, the current President has promised he will not use that power.

Obama will never have to keep that promise if the Enemy Expatriation Act passes, since this act will strip US Citizens of their citizenship for simply being suspected of association with terrorist activity.

The Immigration and Nationality Act establishes guidelines of how a citizen can “lose his nationality by voluntarily performing any of the following acts with the intention of relinquishing United States nationality”. The act then proceeds to list seven ways someone can relinquish their citizenship, among those acts is treason. The Enemy Expatriation Act adds an additional criteria, language straight out of those troublingly worded sections of NDAA that we were told were not aimed at US Citizens. According to Senator Leibermann and others, citizens both by birth and naturalization do not deserve their citizenship if they are suspected of:

engaging in, or purposefully and materially supporting, hostilities against the United States.

We should be asking ourselves, why we need this language in addition to the crime of treason already listed as a way to lose citizenship. The key may lie in the definition of treason in the Constitution and the requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act to actually remove citizenship for treason. The Constitution states:

Treason against the United States, shall consist of only levying war against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving Aid and comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Immigration and Nationality Act uses this definition of treason and then states citizenship can be removed “if and when he is convicted thereof by a court martial or by a court of competent jurisdiction.”

The Constitution and the provisions in the Immigration Act both require a conviction of treason in court. The standard of engaging in or purposefully and materially supporting, as stated in the Enemy Expatriation Act contains no requirement for CONVICTION of these activities.

CONTINUED:
http://www.teapartynation.com/profiles/blogs/enemy-expatriation-act-no-citizenship-no-constitutional-rights

NC House Select Committee on Immigration--MEETING NOTICE

Immigration Enforcement


February 27, 2012
NC House Select Committee on Immigration--MEETING NOTICE

Where: NC Legislative Office Bldg Rm. 643, Raleigh, NC

When: Wednesday 29, 2012, 1:00 pm

This is a reminder to attend the third NC House Select Committee on the State's Role in Immigration Policy hearing on Wednesday, February 29th @ 1:00 PM at the Legislative Office Building in Room 643 (LOB is just behind the NC General Assembly Legislative Building) in Raleigh.

You can use this link to find the bldg and nearby parking: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/graphics/downtownmap.pdf

We need to show the NC General Assembly that the citizens are behind them and we want illegal aliens out of NC. Please make plans to be there!

Contact:
James Johnson
President-NCFIRE
NCFIRE@ncfire.info
1-888-885-0879

OBAMACARE: Opt out rule means entire law should be opted out

February 27, 2012

By Albert Maslar — Obamacare is laden with anomalies that are arbitrarily mishandled by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who is the designated implementer of what is to be and how, in Obama’s “Affordable” HealthCare law that is primed to devastate the underpinnings of the economy and related jobs potential besides further dividing the country on social issues.

Controversy is boiling over Obama’s mandate requiring religious-based employers to purchase insurance plans that pay for contraception services that are contrary to their religious beliefs; contraception, sterilization and abortifacients, substances that induce abortion; so-called Plan B abortion drugs.

Critics of the contraception mandate argue that it forces religious-based organizations to purchase health insurance plans that violate their conscience. No problem; Obama solves the problem by passing the cost to insurance companies, mandating them to offer contraception coverage at no cost.

Even if that were true — there will in fact be a cost, but let’s leave that aside for a moment — this ignores the unconstitutionality of forcing insurance companies to offer a product for free, at no cost.

In the Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer points out that the supposed “solution — forcing insurance companies to provide contraception for free — is an unprecedented “assault on free enterprise,” because it would allow the government, without any statutory authority, to force private companies to hand out goods and services for free.

Obama then proudly proclaims from his favorite teleprompter that religious organizations will not have to “directly” pay for contraception related services. Not having to pay “directly” by definition means they will still have to pay, though vaguely, “indirectly”.

Read more at NetRightDaily.com: http://netrightdaily.com/2012/02/opt-out-rule-means-entire-law-should-be-opted-out/#ixzz1ndgMD3GC

ACT! For America: Obama administration denying reality

February 27, 2012

The Obama administration’s denial of reality—and why Rep. Allen West’s Purple Heart legislation is so important

Please add your name today!

Last week we emailed you about our open letter to the chairmen of both the U.S. House and Senate Armed Services Committees. The letter calls on the committees to take up and pass H.R. 1142, sponsored by Rep. Allen West, which would confer the Purple Heart upon victims of jihadist attacks (Ft. Hood, the Little Rock Recruitment Center, etc.).

Doing so would correct a grave injustice. It would also shine a light on a reality the Obama administration is desperately trying to deny:

•that there is a jihadist ideology;
•that the primary meaning of the doctrine of jihad has always been warfare against non-Muslims;
•that the perpetrators of jihadist violence are not mere “criminals”—they are enemy combatants who deserve to be treated as enemy combatants;
•and that their victims, such as at Ft. Hood and the Little Rock Recruitment Center, are not victims of “crime” or “workplace violence,” but are victims of an act of war—jihad.

The Obama administration has gone so far in acting on this denial that, at the insistence of radical Muslim organizations, it is expunging any references to “jihad” or “radical Islam” from FBI terrorism training manuals.

This pattern of denial by the Obama administration can be seen in other areas. Recently, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the incredulous statement that Iran is a “rational actor” and is not trying to develop nuclear weapons.

This illustrates a triumph of wishful thinking, or perhaps wishful parsing of intelligence data, over an understanding of religious doctrinal beliefs that are at least in part driving Iran’s leaders on its path toward nuclear weaponry. When Ahmadinejad, , or any other Iranian leader, express their belief in the return of the 12th imam, and how a worldwide apocalypse must occur before this happens, we should take them at their word. What better way to instigate a worldwide apocalypse than to launch nuclear weapons?

But instead of taking this seriously, it seems that this administration dismisses such notions as crazy ramblings, because, after all, no one in our leadership would ever believe such a thing.

The Obama administration has also been exhibiting a denial of reality in the way it is responding to the accidental burning of some Qur’ans in Afghanistan. It has trotted out one apology after another, from different leaders in the administration, even going so far as to promise that those who burned the Qur’ans will be held accountable.

(Interestingly, some modern and ancient Islamic authorities specifically sanction the burning of Qur’ans as a proper means of disposal. To find out more see this enlightening article by our friend and colleague Andrew Bostom.)

The Obama administration actions have been undertaken in the hope that this would somehow assuage the wrath of the Afghan rioters, when in fact it denies the reality that such repeated pleas for forgiveness are doing the exact opposite, like throwing gasoline on a fire. The Obama administration’s actions are emboldening the rioters and have failed to achieve their purported goal.

Every person who signs the Purple Heart letter is not only calling on Congress to correct a grave injustice, he or she is sending a message that we have lost patience with the denial of the reality that jihad is what is motivating Islamic terrorists and that jihad is an act of war.

So if you haven’t yet signed the Purple Heart letter, for the sake of the victims at Ft. Hood and Little Rock, please add your name today.

ACT for America
P.O. Box 12765, Pensacola, FL 32591
www.actforamerica.org

ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure.



The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. Much of this information is based upon media sources, such as the AP wire services, newspapers, magazines, books, online news blog and news services, and radio and television, which we deem to be reliable. However, we have undertaken no independent investigation to verify the accuracy of the information reported by these media sources. We therefore disclaim all liability for false or inaccurate information from these media sources. We also disclaim all liability for the third-party information that may be accessed through the material referenced in our emails or posted on our website.

March 5, 2012, 6:30 pm: OBX Tea Party Meeting

March 5, 2012, 6:30 pm:  OBX Tea Party Meeting--Roundtable discussion at Dockside BBQ,

1469 Colington Road

, Kill Devil Hill, located about 1 mile west of Colington Cafe, across from the old Charlene's. This is an informal dutch treat dinner meeting.  Overflow parking is available across the street at what used to be Charlene's.  All local conservatives are invited.  Cost: dutch treat dinner, No RSVP needed.

Obama Hires Academy Award Filmmaker To Make Film About Himself

With Hollywood gathering this weekend for the 84th Academy Awards, President Barack Obama has recruited Oscar-winning documentary director Davis Guggenheim to again produce a short film for his campaign.


Obama’s re-election staff in Chicago spent $162,834 on the film last month, according to the January Federal Election Commission filing. Currently in post-production, the film focuses on the president’s first three years in office, according to a campaign official.

CONTINUED:  http://patriotupdate.com/19022/obama-to-hire-academy-award-winning-filmmaker-to-make-film-about-himself

The film will be less than 30 minutes long and released in weeks, though the exact date hasn’t been decided, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The campaign is still considering how it will be used, the official said.



This is just the latest involvement with Obama’s campaign for Guggenheim, who directed “Waiting for Superman,” a documentary about the U.S. education system, and won an Oscar in 2006 for “An Inconvenient Truth,” which chronicled former Vice President Al Gore’s drive to raise awareness about climate change.

Coalition of Patriot Groups Unite to Oppose NDAA

The New American--Written by Joe Wolverton, II

Tuesday, 14 February 2012
The Intolerable Acts was the name used by American colonists to describe a series of oppressive measures passed by the British Parliament in 1774 relating to the amount of self-government permissible in the American colonies. The acts sparked outrage and firm resistance to the tyrannical regime of King George III throughout the 13 colonies. These arbitrary violations of the rights of the colonists — rights enjoyed by all Englishmen — resulted in the convening of the First Continental Congress in order to organize a formal denouncement of the decrees and to unite the Americans in their resistance to the Crown. Despite various attempts by several delegates to reconcile with Britain, independence was declared within two years and the American War for Independence raged until liberty was achieved in 1783.


Lately, the government of the United States of America has been passing measures masquerading as laws that are easily as arbitrary and deleterious of freedom as any of the coercive measures passed by the despotic regime of the British Empire that caused our ancestors to take up arms and reassert their freedoms. The latest and perhaps most egregious of these is the recently enacted National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (NDAA).

President Barack Obama signed the NDAA into law on New Year’s Eve 2011, granting himself absolute power to deploy the armed forces of the United States to indefinitely detain American citizens suspected (by him) of being "belligerents."

With the President's signing of this act, the writ of habeas corpus — a civil right so fundamental to Anglo-American common law history that it predates the Magna Carta — is voidable upon the command of the President of the United States. The Sixth Amendment right to counsel is also revocable at his will.

If the foregoing description isn’t sufficient evidence of the similarities between the autocratic acts passed in the 18th-century English Parliament and those passed by our own 21st-century Congress, further proof is found in the coalition of patriot organizations (including The John Birch Society, among others) uniting to call upon states to nullify these measures in the several state legislatures.

Toward that noble aim, these groups, under the direction of the Patriot Coalition and the Oath Keepers, have created a website that serves as both an educational portal and a repository of sample nullifying resolutions.

In a statement posted on the website explaining why the NDAA merits special attention from friends of freedom, the Patriot Coalition/Oath Keepers declared:

Our legal team has spent hundreds of hours developing the most detailed and in-depth NDAA resolutions for state legislators you will find anywhere. There are also resolutions for county sheriffs, and others in the works for other state and local governments, veteran service organizations, grassroots organizations, and more. In the coming weeks and months, "The Intolerable Acts" legal team will also produce and distribute model resolutions and legislation related to the entire spectrum of "intolerable and coercive acts" passed since 9/11/2001.

Senator Lindsey Graham is not alone in his belief that Miranda and due process should be waived because in his words, America IS the battlefield! He should read the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the rest of the U.S. Constitution. Watch the videos below to hear Senator Graham in his own words. Rather than destroy the Constitution, how about we end the VISA Waiver Program that allows foreigners to just waltz in, virtually unannounced? The VISA Waiver Program should be suspended at the very least until "the end of hostilities" since, according to Senator Graham (and others) we "are at war." Hmm... where's that declaration of war? Oh... don't have one. Still leaning on an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) that Congress approved to go after those responsible for the attacks of 9/11/2001? Is this Groundhog Day, in which every day is 9/12/2001?

CONTINUE READING HERE: 
http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/10859-coalition-of-patriot-groups-unite-to-oppose-ndaa

40 Days for Life

YOU can help save lives! Yes, you can!

This spring, from February 22 - April 1, our community will be one of many cities joining together for the largest and longest coordinated pro-life mobilization in history -- the 40 Days for Life campaign.

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life effort that consists of:

• 40 days of prayer and fasting
• 40 days of peaceful vigil
• 40 days of community outreach

We are praying that, with God's help, this groundbreaking effort will mark the beginning of the end of abortion in Jacksonville, NC -- and throughout America.

Take a stand for life

While all aspects of 40 Days for Life are crucial in our effort to end abortion, the most visible component is the peaceful prayer vigil outside Crist Clinic for Women, the local abortion facility.

God's love for every soul compels us to fast and pray for clinic workers, clients and the unborn.

You can help make a life-saving impact by joining our local vigil, from 22 FEB - 1 APR, at:  Crist Clinic for Women, 250 Memorial Drive, Jacksonville, NC (Across from the mall on Memorial Drive)

Contact us to learn more, sign up for specific vigil hours, or let us know how you feel called to serve God in this effort, please contact the local 40 Days for Life leadership team:

Elizabeth DeLong 910-265-4894 elizabeth40days4life@gmail.com
Tepora Beckman 910-330-8399  40dys4lifejax@gmail.com

40daysforlife.com/Jacksonville-nc

One of my favorite Founders, Presidents--John Adams

"Be not intimidated...nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberties by any pretense of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery and cowardice."

Quote by: John Adams
(1735-1826) Founding Father, 2nd US President
Date: A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1765

Message from Congressman Walter B Jones on HR 3408

Last week  I voted for H.R. 3408, legislation that would expand oil and gas drilling in the United States, approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada, reduce dependence on Middle Eastern oil and lower gas prices.  The bill passed by a vote of 237 to 187 and now moves to the Senate for further consideration.  Meanwhile, the Obama Administration has announced its opposition to the provisions in H.R. 3408.

Among other things, H.R. 3408 would:

• open up Alaska’s Arctic Refuge (ANWR) for oil and gas exploration;
• require the federal government to issue a permit for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada within 30 days;
• require new oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, and off the coasts of Virginia, California and Alaska; and, 
• require up to 37.5% of revenues from federal offshore oil and gas leases to be shared with coastal states within 200 miles of the leased land.

There are many reasons we have high gas prices today including unprecedented money printing by the Federal Reserve and other central banks, delayed action by federal regulators on requirements to set meaningful position limits to curb manipulation of oil and other commodity markets, and of course, the failure of the federal government to proceed with responsible development of the resources we have here at home. I have been, and will continue to be, outspoken about the need to address all of these issues. The bottom line is that this Administration cannot continue to stand by and do nothing while Americans are getting hurt at the pump. This is about jobs. It’s about getting our economy moving again. By approving the Keystone XL pipeline, opening ANWR and several offshore areas, and allowing revenue sharing with the states, the House bill is a step in the right direction and this Administration and Senate Democrats ought to support it.

Thanks,
Walter

DVD--Sick and Sicker – When the Government Becomes Doctor

DVD--Sick and Sicker – When the Government Becomes Doctor

If you missed this DVD at our February 21st meeting you missed a great informational film and a great time!

Where will ObamaCare lead America?
Logan Darrow Clements shows what happens when "the government becomes your doctor" using licensed news footage from Canadian TV, interviews with doctors, patients, journalists, a health minister, a Member of Parliament, a doctor who went on a hunger strike as well the producer's own Canadian relatives. Clements even rents a hospital to show the mismatch between supply and demand in a medical system run by politicians. SICK and SICKER puts ObamaCare on ice with cold hard facts from Canada. (widescreen, color, 50. Available for $15.00 or download for $10.


http://www.sickandsickermovie.com/

NC TEA BillBoards Across NC

Your NC TEA Billboard Committee has selected the billboard sites and this billboard design to begin our pledge to help reclaim the American Dream in 2012.

We've had ENOUGH! We're going to RECLAIM AMERICA! the only way there is...VOTE! In addition, we will be offering merchandise for your consideration in order to spread the word near and far - in your community, in our State and in our Country. You will be able to have your own copy of our "billboard" for your car in the form of magnetic signs and/or bumper stickers and to walk proudly in your own "screaming eagle" T-shirt! There will be buttons and other items to let folks know we've had ENOUGH!


http://www.tea4nc.com/

Commisoner Scott Dacey--Listening Session

Craven County Commissioner Scott Dacey for District 4
Representing Trent Woods, River Bend and New Bern

Will host a 'listening session' Monday, February 27, 2012 from 4:00-5:00 pm

Craven County Administration Building, 406 Craven Street,
2nd Floor, New Bern

Come make your voice heard!  Commissioner will be waiting to listen!

Constitutional Authority House Rule XII Largely Ignored

All new legislation offered by members of the House of Representatives since January 3, 2011 is required to include, under House Rule XII, a reference to the constitutional authority under which the bill is presented. Most of the bills offered since then show either the members’ lack of understanding of, or blatant disregard for, the purpose of Rule XII: to tie the proposed legislation to the enumerated powers under the Constitution.


The rule states:  A bill or joint resolution may not be introduced unless the sponsor submitted … a statement citing as specifically as possible the power or powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the bill or joint resolution.

The rule was scoffed at by critics who said it would have no measurable impact on bills being presented for consideration by members of the House. Attorney Sandy Levinson, for example, observed sardonically, “No lawyer takes this seriously. As any lawyer would know, it is not hard to come up with a constitutional justification for anything you want to do.”

Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), supported by the Tea Party, was skeptical as well:
The extent to which [the Authority Statements] turn out to be helpful will turn on how much actual analysis takes place, because there are ways of taking the Commerce Clause and making it apply to everything. That’s not new. If that’s all that happens, then this isn’t going to do much. A study of the recently released numbers from the Republican Study Committee (RSC) looked at every one of the 3,865 “Constitutional Authority Statements” presented by members of the 112th Congress through January 5, 2012 [and] has concluded that Rule XII has been ignored in nearly all cases:

• 3 bills cite only the Preamble to the Constitution
• 109 bills cite only Article I (which creates the legislative branch)
• 617 bills cite only Article I, Section 8 (which contains the list of specifically enumerated powers) without citing any specific clause
• 732 bills cite the “commerce clause”
• 321 bills cite the “necessary and proper” clause without citing any of the powers granted in that clause
• 351 bills cite at least two of the “general welfare,” the “commerce,” or the “necessary and proper” clauses

CONTINUED:
http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/congress/10596-constitutional-authority-house-rule-xii-largely-ignored

SUN JOURNAL LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Remember FDR, by CCTA Member Carlton Melvin

February 23, 2012

Remember FDR


How often do we hear GOP politicians, pundits and the general populace mindlessly espouse the political vulnerability of President Obama due to the sorry state of the economy.


Fact is the economy was far worse at this same time during FDR’s first term. Unemployment was more than double what we have now and he was re-elected in a landslide proving that dependency on the government pays off.


Obama is well aware of this but the GOP and the media obviously still don’t get it. Growing numbers of Americans on food stamps, existing jobs propped up by bailouts, mortgage payments in arrears subsidized by government intervention. Recipients of this mass government rescue are, of course, potential voters who will vote for their “rescuers” even if the rescuers happen to be the very reason for their plight in the first place. Wouldn’t most?


Obama’s glee is further fortified as he observes the GOP candidates and their “character assassination” circus demean their presidential images.


The election is far from being “in the Republican bag”. It must not be forgotten that dependency always pays off for politicians, even when it has in fact critically wounded an economy along with its society.


The GOP should erase all smugness and remember FDR!

Carlton Melvin, Havelock
http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/hear-104510-populace-letter.html

The Forbidden Word Impeach

What does History tell us about the impeachment of an American President? It has only happened twice.


Today Lincoln is an icon. His Roman style temple and oversized statue dominate one end of the National Mall. But in 1864 he was an embattled president caught in a war he couldn’t win and running against George B. McClellan, a popular general who said he could end it. Even History was against Lincoln. No president had won a second term in over thirty years. Mr. Lincoln needed all the allies he could muster to win. So the first Republicans led by the President tried to split the opposition. They changed the party name to the National Union Party and chose a Southern Democrat as a running mate. In a surprise to everyone including Lincoln, he won re-election positioning Johnson one heartbeat away from the Oval Office.

After the worst mistake by a Southern sympathizer since the attack on Fort Sumter, the assassination of Lincoln, Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency and almost immediately ran afoul of the Radical Republicans who had a three to one majority in Congress and who wanted to punish the South. Johnson was the only Southern Senator to remain loyal to the Union. He served as the Union imposed military governor of Tennessee until chosen to run for Vice President. A mere forty one days into Lincoln’s second term Johnson was sworn in. When he sought to allow the South a path back into the Union that re-imposed limitations upon the freed slaves and ensured the rise of ex-Confederates to power, he was impeached for breaking a law concerning the firing of appointees. After a contentious trial he was acquitted by one vote.

Johnson and his presidency survived, barely. He was afterwards relegated to irrelevancy and served as a mere caretaker until General Grant came along to become the face of Reconstruction. In this first impeachment battle the President was acquitted, but Congress won.

If you ask the average person who lived through the national ordeal President Clinton was impeached because of his scandalous tryst with a young intern in the Oval Office. Though this was a shameful betrayal of trust, it was not the reason he was impeached. He was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice in a legal matter that had nothing at all to do with Monica Lewinsky. And even though Clinton was later found in contempt by a federal judge for lying under oath and was later disbarred for ethical violations it was the leadership of the House that impeached him that paid the political price. The Senate, which on a strict party line vote (all the Progressives voted to acquit), came out relatively unscathed. Today we are constantly told by the Progressive Press Mr. Clinton is a beloved elder statesman.

Etched upon the memory of the Republican wing of the party of power is the knowledge that unless there is a Senate willing to convict there is no glory in being a House ready to indict.

Republics rise and republics fall. They rise due to the explosion of creativity and production which always accompanies freedom, and they fall when demagogues convince a majority that they deserve a free ride at the expense of a minority. The good thing about History is that if we are wise enough we can learn from other people’s mistakes. And if we aren’t going to allow History to instruct us we should at least be wise enough to allow it to warn us.

Our History teaches us that the impeachment process is possible to initiate but difficult to consummate. So what are we to do if History warns us that what we are witnessing is the fall of our republic? Have we learned enough from History to navigate our way through to a safe harbor, or are we helpless in the face of a hurricane of transformation?

Due to the information developed by the American intelligence community and the bravery of Navy Seal Team Six we learned that the leader of Al Qaeda, the fraternity of terrorists America finds itself endlessly destroying, was not hiding in a cave. He was instead living in a compound barely 1,000 yards from the military academy of our principle ally in our decade long undeclared war. Today’s Hitler is dead, yet the war goes on as if nothing has happened. We have victory after victory with no conclusion and no peace in sight.

PLEASE READ MORE:http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/44815?utm_source=CFP+Mailout&utm_campaign=1152d2b26b-Call_to_Champions&utm_medium=email

Obama Dividend Tax Would Devastate Retirees

Buried within President Barack Obama’s 2013 budget is a proposal to triple the tax rate on corporate dividends which now stands at 15 percent, a move that would have a severe effect on retirees, The Wall Street Journal notes in an editorial.


Obama is proposing to raise the dividend tax rate to the higher personal income tax rate of 39.6 percent, according to the Journal. The rate jumps to 41 percent with the planned phase-out of deductions and exemptions and then hits 44.8 percent with the 3.8 percent investment tax surcharge in Obamacare.

“Of course, the White House wants everyone to know that this new rate would apply only to those filthy rich individuals who make $200,000 a year, or $250,000 if you're a greedy couple. We're all supposed to believe that no one would be hurt other than rich folks who can afford it,” the Journal wrote.

“The truth is that the plan gives new meaning to the term collateral damage, because shareholders of all incomes will share the pain. Here's why. Historical experience indicates that corporate dividend payouts are highly sensitive to the dividend tax. Dividends fell out of favor in the 1990s when the dividend tax rate was roughly twice the rate of capital gains.”

CONTINUED:
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Obama-dividend-tax-retirees/2012/02/23/id/430318?s=al&promo_code=E40B-1

Federal Legislative Updae--March 23. 2012

RECENT SENATE VOTES


Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act - Vote Agreed to (60-36, 4 Not Voting)--The Senate gave final approval to the agreement to extend the Social Security payroll tax rate cut, which was reduced from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent last year, through the end of 2012. The bill also extends certain unemployment benefits and Medicare physician payment rates through the end of the year. The president is expected to sign the bill into law. Sen. Richard Burr voted NO and Sen. Kay Hagan voted YES.

RECENT HOUSE VOTES
Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act - Vote Passed (237-187, 10 Not Voting). The House passed the first part of the surface transportation authorization bill, which has been divided into three parts. This part deals with energy and would use oil and gas revenue to fund transportation projects.  Rep. Walter Jones voted YES.

Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act - Vote Passed (293-132, 8 Not Voting). The House passed this agreement to extend the Social Security payroll tax rate cut, which was reduced from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent last year, through the end of 2012. The bill also extends certain unemployment benefits and Medicare physician payment rates through the end of the year. The Senate passed the bill a short time later, clearing it for the president's signature. Rep. Walter Jones voted YES.

NC County Gov’t Defies Court Decision Banning Christian Prayers at Board Meetings

God bless Rowan County!  Shame-Shame, Craven County Commissioners!

Read here:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/nc-county-govt-defies-court-decision-banning-christian-prayers-at-board-meetings/

Matthew 10:33 that whoever shall deny Jesus before men, him will Jesus also deny before our Father in heaven, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

CCTA WATCHDOG REPORT--North Carolina

2/21/12

Preschoolers and lunches: A preschooler at West Hoke Elementary School ate three chicken nuggets for lunch Jan. 30 because the school told her the lunch her mother packed was not nutritious.

The girl’s turkey and cheese sandwich, banana, potato chips, and apple juice did not meet U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, according to the interpretation of the person who was inspecting all lunch boxes in the More at Four classroom that day.

The Division of Child Development and Early Education at the Department of Health and Human Services requires all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs — including in-home day care centers — to meet USDA guidelines. That means lunches must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.

When home-packed lunches do not include all of the required items, child care providers must supplement them with the missing ones.

The girl’s mother — who said she wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter from retaliation — said she received a note from the school stating that students who did not bring a “healthy lunch” would be offered the missing portions, which could result in a fee from the cafeteria, in her case $1.25.

“I don't feel that I should pay for a cafeteria lunch when I provide lunch for her from home,” the mother wrote in a complaint to her state representative, Republican G.L. Pridgen of Robeson County.

The girl’s grandmother, who sometimes helps pack her lunch, told Carolina Journal that she is a petite, picky 4-year-old who eats white whole wheat bread and is not big on vegetables.

“What got me so mad is, number one, don’t tell my kid I’m not packing her lunch box properly,” the girl’s mother told CJ. “I pack her lunchbox according to what she eats. It always consists of a fruit. It never consists of a vegetable. She eats vegetables at home because I have to watch her because she doesn’t really care for vegetables.”

When the girl came home with her lunch untouched, her mother wanted to know what she ate instead. Three chicken nuggets, the girl answered. Everything else on her cafeteria tray went to waste.

“She came home with her whole sandwich I had packed, because she chose to eat the nuggets on the lunch tray, because they put it in front of her,” her mother said. “You’re telling a 4-year-old. ‘oh. your lunch isn’t right,’ and she’s thinking there’s something wrong with her food.”

While the mother and grandmother thought the potato chips and lack of vegetable were what disqualified the lunch, a spokeswoman for the Division of Child Development said that should not have been a problem.

“With a turkey sandwich, that covers your protein, your grain, and if it had cheese on it, that’s the dairy,” said Jani Kozlowski, the fiscal and statutory policy manager for the division. “It sounds like the lunch itself would’ve met all of the standard.” The lunch has to include a fruit or vegetable, but not both, she said.

There are no clear restrictions about what additional items — like potato chips — can be included in preschoolers’ lunch boxes.

“If a parent sends their child with a Coke and a Twinkie, the child care provider is going to need to provide a balanced lunch for the child,” Kozlowski said.

Ultimately, the child care provider can’t take the Coke and Twinkie away from the child, but Kozlowski said she “would think the Pre-K provider would talk with the parent about that not being a healthy choice for their child.”

State officials still pushing coastal counties to prepare for a one-meter rise
By Sara Burrows

State officials are pressuring local governments to plan for a one-meter sea-level rise by 2100, even though many independent scientists have argued the rise is highly unlikely if not impossible.

Even though a state advisory panel no longer recommends regulations based on the one-meter projection, local government officials worry that state regulators will try to implement those rules.

Such a policy, they say, would have a devastating impact on coastal economies, property values, and citizens’ ability to secure financing and property insurance. North Carolina also would become the first state to enact policies consistent with a projected sea-level rise of that magnitude.

In a 2010 report (PDF), the Coastal Resource Commission’s Science Panel said the sea level is likely to rise one meter by 2100. Now the commission is drafting policy “encouraging” coastal communities to consider accelerated rates of sea-level rise in local land-use and development planning.

A group of independent scientists have challenged the panel’s report, pushing the CRC to revise its draft sea-level rise policy so that the regulations in it read more like suggestions and the one-meter benchmark no longer appears.

There’s nothing scientific about the way the science panel came up with its one-meter projection, said John Droz, a physicist and environmental activist. Droz, with the help of more than 30 other scientists, wrote a critique (PDF) of the panel’s “NC Sea-Level Rise Assessment Report.”

Droz’s first complaint is that the panel based its one-meter projection on a review of scientific studies, but the review excluded studies concluding that sea-level rise is not happening. Also, the study cited most by the panel is no longer supported by its own author.

“They never mentioned this,” he said. “These people are either totally incompetent or they’re just totally dishonest.”

Droz also criticizes the broadness of the range of possible scenarios the panel came up with.

The report states that the panel has not attempted “to predict a specific future rate or amount of rise because that level of accuracy is not considered to be attainable at this time.” Instead, the panel predicts a “likely range of rise” between 15 and 55 inches and settles on 39 inches (one meter) as the “amount of rise that should be adopted for policy development and planning purposes.”

“It appears the authors want to have it both ways,” Droz said. “They rightfully acknowledge an accurate future prediction is unattainable, yet they make a future prediction that they expect North Carolina to use for development and planning purposes.”

Droz also takes issue with the tide gauge measurements the panel relied on.

Carteret County Commissioner Doug Harris said coastal counties are being pressured to plan for a significant rise.

State Budget

If all you know about North Carolina’s state budget is what you get from the mainstream media or left-wing policy analysts, you don’t know enough. Because for the most part, all they want to talk about is the General Fund – the share of state spending paid for by North Carolina’s income tax, statewide sales tax, and a few other sources.

Yes, the General Fund pays for most teacher salaries and prison beds. And the General Fund is directly under the control of North Carolina governors and lawmakers, unlike some other parts of the state budget.

But the General Fund, which totals nearly $20 billion this fiscal year, only represents 39 percent of North Carolina’s state budget of about $51 billion. When I first came back to North Carolina from Washington to help found the John Locke Foundation in 1989, the General Fund accounted for fully 60 percent of state spending.

Jan Parys

Sun Journal Letter to the Editor: Fiscal Oversight, by CCTA Past Chairman, Raynor James

February 19, 2012

Scott Dacey’s letter (Sunday, Feb. 19) raising questions that he and other Board of Commissioner members have asked regarding the running of our Sheriff’s Department, and contrarian opinions expressed by Michael Waldman and Leland Grice drew my attention. Both Messrs. Waldman and Grice seem to think our Commissioners are out of line to question the operation of the Sheriff’s Department. That puzzles me.


Should our commissioners dole out our hard earned taxpayer money to buy cars, computers, salaries, any lawsuit awards that might be needed, and various other expenses requested by the sheriff without a clear understanding of how our money is being spent and why it is needed? As a taxpayer, I thank the Board of Commissioners for trying to see that the taxes I pay are not squandered. The more they do it, the better I shall like it.

Hiring practices and high accident rates can expose Craven County to an increased potential for lawsuits. Good driver training for deputies can make the difference between life and death for them and for our citizens. Shouldn’t we be sure we’re handling these things effectively? Why wouldn’t we expect accident reports to match post-accident investigations?

And isn’t it appropriate to ask where the $9,300 that’s missing from the prisoner’s commissary account is? Maybe, as Michael Waldman suggested, it’s explained away by a computer software glitch. Fine. If that’s the explanation, say so, correct the problem, and let’s move on.

Stonewalling and name-calling is childish behavior unbecoming to a trusted public servant. Answering the questions the commissioners have asked, or taking corrective action (if it is needed), and then answering the questions fully and cheerfully would be the response of a “big picture, devoted public servant” of the sort that Michael Waldman and Leland Grice seem to think our sheriff is. I hope they are right. I hope our sheriff is able to overcome his initial irritation, realize that he is not the only elected representative of the people who needs to make decisions involving taxpayers’ money spent by his department, and step forward to clearly demonstrate that his department is shipshape.

Raynor James, New Bern

Letter from Commissioner Dacey is below!

Letter:  Board vs. Sheriff
Houdini strikes again. If you watch very closely, you will see the age-old practice of misdirection and political sleight of hand is under way and our paper of record, the Sun Journal, has fallen for the trick once again. I am hopeful the citizens of Craven County will not be so naïve as to believe that partisanship, rather than a desire to protect our community, is our primary goal when members of the County Board make inquiries of the management practices of anyone working for the taxpayers of Craven County, including Sheriff Jerry Monette.


In the aftermath of the Feb. 6 meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, the Sun Journal conducted an interview with Sheriff Monette in an effort to get his response to concerns Commissioner Jeff Taylor and I raised about the sheriff’s management practices, including the use of county property and failure to properly account for prisoner funds. Rather than demonstrate to the Sun Journal a revised vehicle use policy had been completed or that the missing funds from the commissary account had been identified, the sheriff chose to respond by saying he thinks politics motivated our discussion at the meeting. Classic misdirection.

Last Sunday, the editor of the Sun Journal took the bait. Rather than press the sheriff for evidence that he or those within his department exercised any form of fiduciary oversight for the funds deposited into the accounts of those spending time in our jail, he chose to make this about partisan politics. After all, making sure that “we all just get along” is so much more important than making certain some of the hard questions are asked and that honest answers are forthcoming.

If the Sun Journal is truly concerned with providing a public service to this community, then start asking some tough questions – the questions both Republicans and Democrats serving on the county board are asking of our sheriff. Why have there been so few minority deputies on patrol throughout our county? Have the men and women serving as deputies been provided adequate driver training? When sheriff’s staff is involved in auto collisions, why don’t accident reports conform to post-accident investigations? Why did the sheriff fail to reconcile the prisoner’s commissary account on a regular basis and where is the missing $9,300?

I am certain there are answers for each of these questions, but none of those answers should be based upon whether it is a Republican or a Democrat asking the questions. The important thing is that the questions get asked and answered. Those of us serving on the County Board remain committed to doing just that.

Scott Dacey, Craven County commissioner, Trent Woods

http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/strikes-104474-board-houdini.html